Chaotic Nightmares
by Some guy2283
Summary: For nearly all his life, Riku knew of nothing but pain, hunger, and torture. Now free of his bindings, he must find himself in a world which cares little for a former slave like him. All he has to help him are his close friend Erza, and the Thunder Legion he teamed with. But what does Acnologia have to do with all of this?


**Fun fact about this story is that I actually didn't come up with the idea for it in the first place. A reader pm'd the concept to me and I thought it would make for an interesting story. It's an 'Acnologia has a pupil' story, pitched in a way which I just couldn't say no to. Now that I actually have the first chapter written, I see potential here. I guess only time will tell if I'm right or not. Anyways, that's enough of me rambling for now, here's the first chapter to my newest story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, I don't even own this OC. Everything belongs to their respective creators.**

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**(Flashback)**

The world around him was dark, cold, and damp. The only sounds that could be heard were the orders of the guards, the growls of the magic soldiers, and the pained groans of the numerous slaves working day in and day out. All in the service of the so-called dark wizard Zeref.

This was his world, a world of torment, pain, and hunger. Yet he wasn't alone in his suffering, there were many children were slaves alongside him. Yet here, he felt at peace. This constant state of pain and hunger wasn't new to him. He suffered in a similar situation once already. His father would beat him constantly over his many failures. Why should this time be any different?

He had been captured soon after waking up, right outside of a small village called Rosemary. It seemed like a quiet and peaceful place. But he only had a few days to get to know everyone in the village before disaster would follow and he would end up being captured in the raid.

When he thought his nightmare was finally over, he was quickly proven wrong. His life had initially been a nightmare before turning into a peaceful life. It quickly turned on its head, becoming yet another nightmare. One life of pain and torture was replaced by another. With only a small and insignificant break in between.

But he wasn't alone, many children were captured alongside him. But the one he was closest to was a small girl about his age. She had scarlet-red hair which drew him in, akin to a magnetic pole attracting the opposite end. Her name was Erza, she was there alongside him. Even when he thought his life over, she was there to motivate him. She gave him a reason to continue living.

He owed her a debt, he hoped to one day repay.

**(Flashback end)**

Now wasn't the time for meaningless flashbacks. There was a job that needed to be completed. One that Laxus decided to take with the Thunder Legion. After he joined the guild alongside Erza, Laxus decided to take him under his wing and make him a part of his team. Erza decided to fly solo for the time being.

"Hey Rikku," he could hear Laxus calling him from the distance. "Don't get sentimental on us now! We get a job to do."

He wasn't in that place anymore. He was free to live his own life, not bound by any master. That's what he kept telling himself day after day.

"R-right!" He would respond. Rushing to rejoin his teammates before they left without him.

When the train started moving, both Riku and Laxus immediately hunched over a little. Much to the slight amusement of the rest of the Thunder Legion.

"So Laxus," Freed would begin. "What's the mission this time?" he asked for the rest of the team, as each of them was curious in their own right as to what the mission entailed.

"A simple search and destroy mission, nothing else to it. One of the larger towns has been attacked repeatedly by a couple of dark guilds acting in coordination with each other." Riku would ponder this for a moment, trying to think over why dark guilds would ever think to align forces. It was completely unlike how they generally operated.

"Why would dark guilds even remotely consider working together? It doesn't make sense." He spoke for the rest of the team, they were just as confused as he was.

"Apparently from what I was able to gather, the town itself is home to some ancient relic. My thoughts are that those guilds aligned so that they had a better shot at stealing it." The relic in question was a gemstone said to have been gifted to this village by the dragons, many centuries ago. They call it the eye, their most sacred relic.

"Well then, that just makes the job easier for us." Riku would reply "If all these dark guilds are in one place, we don't have to track them as far." The rest of the Legion seemed to agree with him. They had a reputation for completing jobs on a relatively fast time table. So all of these guilds being in one place just made it that much easier for them. If they were fast enough, they might be able to get a couple more jobs done by the end of the month.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself Riku," Freed finally decided to jump in. "These dark guilds have been prowling the area for months, it's likely they know the area far better than we do." He had a point, each dark guild they came across had gotten significantly stronger than the previous ones. Each one was far craftier than the last in how they dealt with their opponents. It was only a matter of time before they encountered a guild they wouldn't be able to beat through sheer strength alone. Riku could only hope that this would not be that moment.

"You don't have to remind me, Freed. I learned my lesson after that dark guild in Sassafras." even to this day, Bickslow still held Sassafras over him. Not that anyone else minded, in the end, that dark guild was taken care of. Evergreen managing to completely petrify the guild master, before presenting the new statue to the town as a gift. It wasn't what the townspeople were expecting, but it was still a highly appreciated gift.

**(Chrysanthemum town)**

In terms of design, the town itself was nothing special, having only a few key buildings that still managed to stay standing despite the numerous attacks. The town itself was designed in a typical flower pattern, the main buildings in the center of the town while the houses and other buildings surrounding them.

Most of the civilians, save for a few brave souls who still held onto hope, had fled a long time ago, wanting to escape the destruction which they knew would hit them despite their continued resistance. The few that remained held onto to hope that these attacks would stop and that life would eventually return to normal. But another part of them also feared that these attacks would never stop until the dark mages got what they desired.

The team met with the town's mayor, learning where and how often the dark guilds attack. Which happens about once every couple of days towards the evening. The dark mages would cause havoc throughout the town, destroy a couple of things and then leave after not finding what they were after.

"Mind if I see what it is the dark mages are after?" Riku wasn't one to impose himself in on conversations, especially when they were figuring out what it was they were trying to protect. But every since he learned what it was, some sort of curiosity began to emerge from within him.

"S-sure," the mayor would respond. "Right this way please" Not wasting any more time, the mayor would take the Thunder Legion to view the eye as it was known. Down into one of the secret chambers well below the town itself.

The group would go through a series of winding tunnels and corridors, meant to confuse and disorient any who would attempt the steal the treasure hidden at the end. The mayor would disarm any traps they would come across, only to rearm them after they had passed. It was clear to everyone that the security of the eye was paramount to everyone who resided here.

"This gem was granted to our predecessors many years ago." The mayor tried to break the silence, wanting to also inform the mages of the legend of this town. "During the dragon civil war, a dragon with blue and black scales protected our budding town from the dragons which hated humans. They left not too long after the war ended, but in their thanks for our ancestors' hospitality, they left us what we call 'the eye'". Black and Blue scales, to Riku that sounded oddly familiar. He knew who the mayor was talking about, yet he didn't. When he awoke back in rosemary all those years ago, all he had was his name, his magic, and nothing else. Not even the name of the one who taught him his magic.

"Here we are," they had finally arrived in the central chamber. "The gem on the pedestal is 'the eye'. Beautiful, is it not?" there was a certain level of pride to his voice as he showed off the town's most prized possession. Bickslow, Evergreen, and Freed looked on the gem with some vested concern. Laxus, as always, couldn't care less. It was Riku who took the most interest in the gem.

The gem itself seemed to call out to him, resonated with some part of his soul. The mayor and the rest of the thunder legion noticed as Riku unconsciously made his way over to the gem. Evergreen tried to hold him back, only to find out that his strength seemed to dramatically increase in the recent moments.

Eventually, Riku seemed to come out of his trance-like state as he found himself with his left hand touching the very gem he was hired to protect.

**(Chrysanthemum town)**

The Thunder Legion would return to the mayor's office, their time in the town's catacombs having come to a close. Riku was still a little dazed about the events which occurred in the altar beneath the town. His mind was still trying to decipher everything he saw back then.

"I- I don't know what came over me." The rest of his team held looks of concern as he tried to apologize. A few among them even wondered if Riku would be able to assist them with this mission as he was now.

He would notice this, instantly attempting to reassure his teammates that nothing was wrong. While the Thunder Legion were critical, they didn't say anything about it. For this mission. They would need all of them to come out victorious.

"As far as I'm aware, there are at least three dark guilds who seek to steal the eye." The mayor now took a serious turn. "Every time we tried to fight back, we lost. But we still never told them its location." He would give everyone present half of the posted reward.

"Consider this a down payment for your services, I'll pay you the rest once the dark guilds are defeated." The initial payment totaled about 5 million. Overall, the pay was about 10 million Jewels. This had gone on for many months and the town had just recently raised the reward from the 5 million it had been earlier.

"This will be more than plenty." Laxus would respond. "Consider those dark guilds as good as gone." He had his trademark smirk, already forming plans on how to take down these pathetic guilds and prove that they were the strongest.

"Let's go," he would begin. "It's time we prove just how strong we are when compared to them." The rest of the Thunder legion would leave, not before giving their thanks to the mayor and promising to put an end to this issue once and for all.

The day was coming to a close, the dark guilds would make their attack tomorrow. Once they did, the thunder legion would be ready. They would show them fire and fury unlike any they had witnessed previously. It would come in the form of a thunderstorm, clouding the sky with its righteous fury.

When the team retired to their rooms for the night, Riku was sent into a private room. Away from the prying eyes of the rest of his team. He was grateful for this, as there were many things that he needed to think over. Many things he saw in his mind, the eye held significance to him. He only needed to figure out why that was the case.

Hopefully, this coming mission would do well to ease some of the growing gaps in his memory. Otherwise, would he ever figure out the meaning behind the magic he holds close to his heart?

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**And that's a wrap for chapter 1! Interesting start if I say so myself.**

**I hope you have a wonderful day, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**


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